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Wednesday, 24 January 2018

Had been passing by the corner lot bungalow located at Taman Century T-junction numerous times and I was always pondering why a property at such a good strategic location was abandoned, until it was taken over and refurbished into a Thai restaurant by Baan Poonarong.

The signature board displayed outside the restaurant has successfully served its purpose by attracting passer-by's attention-- (1) the logo is very unique with the head portrait (of Mdm Poonarong?) and (2) it was written in Chinese that they offer Thai Hakka home-cooked dishes, a brand new fusion that I would like to try. However, I have not visited them until recently, after the crowd has slightly reduced since its first opening.

Baan Poonarong mainly provides homey dishes and the dining place ought to be homey as well. Thus, do not expect magnificence renovation and design, minimal refurbishment with simple set up were done over the abandoned bungalow and the dishes should be the more anticipated factor we are here. As it is situated at a traffic-busy T-junction, it may be difficult and dangerous to park the cars at the roadside, luckily there is a very spacious courtyard where the patrons can park their cars nicely within the compound.

Coconut 椰子 Lemon Grass 香茅水

Coconut juice and lemon grass tea are the typical beverages in Siamese restaurants.

Tom Yum Ta Lay 海鲜东炎汤

While most of the restaurants offer both red and clear soup tom yam, there is only one version available in Baan Poonarong. It was served in a hot pot with a candle at the base to keep the soup warm throughout the meal. The contents of the tom yam were very sumptuous and generous with assorted of seafood, mushroom and vegetables. As the colour shown in the picture, the tom yam broth was very thick and flavourful but not overly spicy. It went super well with white rice.

Broccoli Pad Goong 西蓝花炒虾仁

A portion of green for the day, which was just nicely done and nothing more to shout about.

Ka Moo 焖猪脚

The braised pork trotter was what we came for. The portion was quite decent for 2 pax during our first visit. It tasted not bad too, the trotter was off bone soft and very savoury. I also pretty like the idea of giving additional gravy, which I could "flood" my rice with the tasty gravy.

Despite the brief introduction on the signature board, we have not tried their Hakka dishes and we will leave them to the next round of visit perhaps.

Wednesday, 10 January 2018

It was a pity that Go Noodle House was only established after I left university and Kuala Lumpur to the southern part of Malaysia. Yay, this is my first visit to Go Noodle House after 4 years since its' establishment, after being told by my friends in Kuala Lumpur repeatedly about its excellent taste.

We went to the first and main shop in Jaya One in the late morning, when the restaurant was just opened to avoid the crowd during lunch hour. Our strategy was right and we managed to get seated without queuing. Other than the signature noodles, we ordered their side dishes as well. The side dishes were not very special, but all to our taste and craving. I was very surprised to have found "Bak Kwa" in their menu and as a "BaK Kwa" lover, I can't myself to add it in my order list. All of them were served hot to ensure the best taste. The fried beancurd skin and spring roll were very crispy.

The signature rice noodles with meatball, which according to others, the meatball has a soupy and juicy filling, which will burst in your mouth. I started with having a sip of its soup and it did not disappoint me. The soup, which was made from fish bone, was flavourful but refreshing at the same time. The rice noodles were very springy, well absorbed with the soup. While others may not like coriander, I was very pleased that coriander was given generously on the top of my bowl. Anyway, if you don't like it, you may opt it out by informing the waiter.

As claimed, the minced meat inside the meatballs is soft and juicy.

The other version with pork belly slices. I like this too. The pork belly was very fresh and no marinate is required. The natural sweetness from the pork slices is the best seasoning and to make it more tangy, dip it with the special chilies sauce!

Other than the signature bursting meatball, GO Noodle has the normal meatball as well. Although less significant, I still find the normal meatball not bad, especially if you prefer to go for lighter meal and taste.

The silky smooth rice noodles and the light but flavourful broth have sufficiently explained the fame of and overwhelming crowd in GO Noodle House. A simple yet refined dish -- the soup noodles offered by GO Noodle House will not burden your tummy at all and it is most probably the reason why many people (including me) repeatedly visit GO Noodle House. Nowadays, GO Noodle has its appearance in southern Malaysia as well and YEAH, I do not need travel all the way to Kuala Lumpur to enjoy a bowl of goodness anymore.